


Planet Metaverse: The Day The Earth Stood Still

by Merkwerkee



Series: Planet Metaverse Sidestories [4]
Category: Masters of the Metaverse
Genre: a lot of weird stuff got trapped in the home metaverse when it was locked, planet metaverse: invasion, these are their stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22856341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merkwerkee/pseuds/Merkwerkee
Summary: When the people from Metaverse #742 invade the home metaverse, their first action is to knock out every electrical device on the planet with a blanket EMP device. All Emma knows is that nothing is working and her parents aren't home
Series: Planet Metaverse Sidestories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643125





	Planet Metaverse: The Day The Earth Stood Still

Emma Tomlinson was _scared_.

All the lights in the house were off and wouldn’t turn back on, the fridge had stopped humming, the TV wouldn’t turn on, and neither her mother nor her Daddy were home. Her mother had said she was just going down the road to get some stuff from the store; when she did that she always took a really long time and came back with pretty-colored bottles she wouldn’t let Emma touch, except this time it was even longer than usual and Emma didn’t like it. Her Daddy was at work and wouldn’t be home for another hour or two, and Emma was scared now.

Mind made up, she ran to her room and grabbed her backpack. She put in a spare set of clothes so her mother wouldn’t complain when she came home dirty, then ran downstairs and grabbed a bottle of water and some cheese sticks from the fridge. She considered bringing something for Growly, but she didn’t really have enough room left in her backpack after she’d put the other stuff in there and it wasn’t her usual day to go visit him so there weren’t any of his snacks in the fridge.

She hoisted the backpack onto her shoulders and slipped out the front door, making sure to lock it up just like her mother taught her. The little number keys beside the door were dark and didn’t beep, but she put the code in anyway, just in case. Turning, she took one step off the porch and was arrested by a dog barking. She blinked and glanced around; one of her neighbors was walking their dog, a small terrier that barked at everything and bit you if you tried to pet it. Emma didn’t like that dog - or that neighbor, though she wouldn’t say so because that was Not A Polite Thing To Do, Young Lady - so she turned and hurried off towards Growly’s house.

As she walked she saw more and more people starting to walk too. Most of the adults looked worried, but the kids seemed to be either happy to be outside or sulky because they had to go outside with very few in between. Emma avoided them all; the kids were boring and the adults would try and keep her from meeting with Growly and with all the strangeness of the day she really wanted the comfort of Growly’s fur.

It was odder still that nobody was driving their cars. Emma still checked both ways before crossing the street, but even though some cars were in the middle they weren’t moving. The ones in the middle looked broken, in fact; glass sprinkled the road around them with bigger chunks still hanging down outside the frames. Emma didn’t stop to look closer, even though the glass sparkled so prettily under the afternoon sun. Her mother had always been very definite that broken glass was A Mess, and Emma didn’t want to get messy before she even got to Growly’s house. Showing up to another person’s house all messy was just bad manners, after all.

On reaching the park, she wobbled for a moment at the outskirts; the park was busier than she’d ever seen it, a number of parents apparently having decided to exercise their kids to make them stop whining. The kids themselves were playing noisily on the playground equipment and running around on the grass while the adults were huddled together and talking with worried faces. Something about the knots of worried adults made Emma’s stomach clench unpleasantly - where were her parents? She didn’t know, and hurried towards the trees so she didn’t have to think about it.

The treeline was quieter, the noise of the other kids playing muted somewhat by the vegetation, and she hurried a little as she walked down the familiar path. The park was different when it was noisy, but compared to what was happening with everything else it wasn’t so bad; Emma almost wished she could join the other children, but they all had parents watching them and her parents weren’t around. Her parents were never around, but now it was scary and she wanted Growly. Growly was very smart and always knew what to say and do, like when she’d asked him about the Bad Man on the television.

Fortunately she didn’t encounter anyone else on her way - though she saw flashes of adults walking other trails - and she had arrived at Growly’s house in pretty short order.

“Growly!”

Emma didn’t quite shout - her mother hated it when she shouted - but she did raise her voice and six opalline eyes blinked a greeting from the shadows. “Emma,” he responded gravely between her ears, and the overwhelming surge of relief nearly brought tears to her eyes. She was safe with Growly; he would know what to!

“Emma, what is wrong? It is not our usual time of meeting.” Emma could feel the concern in his voice wrap around her like a blanket, and felt a little silly for her overreaction to the day’s events. Still, she couldn’t help but feel better as he moved to the edge of the shadows and the outline of his funny mustache became visible against the deeper shadows of the root system.

“I don’t understand, Growly, but the television won’t go on, and the icebox won’t hum, and my phone won’t go on, and mother and Daddy aren’t home, and everybody’s out walking and no cars are driving and it just feels wrong. Like you tried to show me about the colors except it’s just bad and kinda yellow?” Emma let it all out in a rush and immediately felt a weight lift off her chest, a weight lightened further by the fact that Growly didn’t dismiss everything as her imagination. Instead he seemed lost in thought, mustache bristling bushier than she’d ever seen it.

“May I see your phone?” The question came into her mind neutrally, no derision or scorn….but nothing happier either and Emma blinked with a sudden sense of foreboding. “Sure,” she said and pulled her pack off so she could zip open one of the outer pouches. “Mother gave it to me to use in emergencies only and makes me charge it every third night, but I tried to call her and it didn’t work. I charged it up like she showed me, I _swear_ ,” she added hurriedly, afraid he’d think she messed up and let it run out of charge.

“I believe you took excellent care of it; you are not a careless kit. I wish to see it for another reason; it may have a story of its own to tell.” Emma beamed at Growly’s words; he knew she could take care of her things! That made her Responsible and a good child. Fishing the phone out of its pocket, she made sure to hold it under the shadow of the overhang above them. Growly took it in one of his funny hand-paws and inspected it closely. First he felt along the case with his hand-paws, then he sniffed it - brushing it through is mustache as he did so - before finally-

“Ew!” She exclaimed as his wide purple tongue ran gently over the device from top to bottom. She could feel his amusement between her eyes, but he didn’t respond; instead, he held the phone up to be inspected visually before huffing a great sigh that set his mustache a-fluttering. His amusement faded, but nothing replaced it in her mind and she blinked. “Growly? What’s wrong?”

Growly set the phone gently on the packed dirt floor and gazed at it for a long moment before looking at her with all six of his eyes. “Emma. You say your caretakers have not returned home?” His tone was neutral and she couldn’t feel anything from it in her head. It was strange, and she didn’t like it, but she did her best to clamp down on her unease. “Yes; mother went to the store hours and hours ago and didn’t come back, and Daddy’s at work.”

“And there is no one else you would seek shelter from?” Again, his tone was neutral and his words particularly colorless. Emma blinked, lost, as she tried to think; the only person she could really think of was Growly. Did he not want to help her? Her eyes filled with tears as her lip began to wobble, the events of the day suddenly looming large and scary again. “N-no! B-but you s- _said_ come to you if things got b-bad an’, an’” overwrought, she could feel tears start running down her face and she closed her eyes to dash them away. With mother and Daddy disappeared, and Growly - Growly - where else was she supposed to go?

Big paws landed on her shoulders unexpectedly and pulled her close to a furry barrel of a chest, smaller hand-paws running warm lines up and down her back. “Oh, I did not mean to frighten you, Emma. By law I am required to ensure all other caretakers have given up their claims to a kit before I may take it as my own. **Such are the Laws of Capisten; so they are ordained, so shall they be enforced**.” His voice was warm between her ears, the last part echoing weirdly like a bunch of other voices were saying it at the same time in the same way. It had the sound of finality to it, an almost binding force, and more tears squeezed themselves out of her eyes as her head felt unbearably full of it.

“I, Murem Sivaowl Ryggaus ki Capisten, third in line to the Seat of Capisten in absentia, do so claim Emma; until she may choose her own path, let her be Emma Josri Ryggaus ki Capisten, fourteenth in line to the Seat of Capisten in absentia. **In accordance with the Laws of Capisten, let my words be binding.** ” Again, the last sentence had a really weird echo, like many voices were saying at once along with Growly. As he finished speaking, warmth crashed through Emma like a wave; she was safe, and secure in Growly’s paws and in the den he’d made livable, and he’d never willingly let her come to harm and she knew it down to her bones.

When he spoke again it was in a quieter voice, a certain thread of exhaustion running through it. “I had not expected the honor of kits, but I will do my best. I do not think it safe to stay here overlong; there is nothing to be found for food that was not brought in by others, and they will not be bringing anything again for an unknown time. Rest now Emma, and I will take us somewhere safer when the primary star has gone below the horizon. Sleep,” the last word was a command Emma, exhausted by the day so far, was happy to obey and, snuggling closer to Growly - whose warmth she could feel all the time between her ears now, even when he wasn’t speaking - she fell asleep.


End file.
